Franco went in the bedroom. Gini was asleep, facing away from his side of the bed. He got undressed and climbed under the covers and moved over next to her. She smelled so good. He was so tired he couldn’t think anymore. They would work out their problems in the morning. He needed to sleep.
At six o’clock, Gini was up dressed and heading out of the hotel room door. She didn’t look back. She just left him sleeping.
Once on the plane, she tried to relax. She would be home soon. There she could bury herself out of sight so she could figure out her life.
Jimmy was at the airport exit door when she walked out. Howard greeted her when she walked in the Tower’s door. “I put your mail on the counter in your kitchen. I hope everything went well on your trip. I know it wasn’t a joyous occasion.”
“Thank you, Howard. All I need now is some good rest.”
“Yes, Ms. Anderson. We don’t want you getting sick again.”
She had never been so glad to be home. She turned on her PET. Suddenly her PET watch started talking. “Message, Ric Santini. Voice message, Franco. Voice message, Catherine.”
“Read Ric Santini.”
“Gini, I don’t know where you are. I hope this doesn’t put you in an uncomfortable position with Franco. I just need to talk to you. Please. I’ll be in Florida for a week. Please contact me.”
She sat down on the couch and took off her shoes. It was good he wasn’t in town. She needed space so she could think through things. She needed time to figure out how to tell him she couldn’t be with him anymore.
“Play Catherine.”
“Oh, honey, have you gone dark? I have sent you so many emails without responses. I hope you’re okay. I can’t remember when you said you’d be back. Maybe you didn’t. I hope you’re feeling better, and the loss of your mother hasn’t been too hard on you. I understand if you need more time. Let me know. C.”
She needed to get back to work just as soon as possible. That is exactly what she needed. She would rest and sleep for a day and then she’d go full speed ahead. Maybe she should go to DC, completely remove herself from both romantic situations. She’d spend some time with her good friend.
“Play—” She stopped. Did she really want to hear from Franco? Oh, God, hopefully, he hadn’t followed her to Boston. “Play Franco.”
“Listen, babe, our time together didn’t go as I had hoped. I’m so sorry you feel the way you do. But I understand. I have spent all morning thinking about how I have messed things up. I’ll find a place where we can live together and work the jobs we love. I owe that to you. I have to go back to China for a few days, but then I will fix us, I promise.”
She burst into tears and lay on the couch. Could they be fixed? …She didn’t think so
Chapter 15 – Conflicted
Franco arrived at the airport in Shijiazhuang. He hated he had to leave Gini so unhappy, but if he didn’t get a handle on this mess, he might never get home. A thorough explanation when he got back would make her understand. He needed to stop taking her for granted and approach her more strategically.
Luca had set up a meeting with the company’s Chinese lawyer, Franco, and himself. The victim of the accident threatened to take a complaint against the company to the government, claiming his harness was faulty, and the company was at fault for his life-threatening injury.
“Life-threatening?” Franco asked. “I thought he had a broken arm.”
“He claims he has nerve damage and will never be able to work again. If he can’t work, then he and his family will starve to death without an income.”
“Come on!” Franco paced the floor, rubbing his forehead. “What do we have to do to make this go away?” He looked at the lawyer.
“I don’t think he’ll go through with his threat,” Luca said. “We can give him more money. If need be, we can pay the government agent under the table.”
“Isn’t that admitting guilt?”
“Guilty, innocent, doesn’t matter here. There will be no trial. You know that!”
“Was the harness faulty?”
“It was one of the parts brought in by the agent, but it appears he hooked the rope to a fabric loop instead of the metal hook. It’s pretty ripped up, hard to tell.”
Ric took the trip to Reno and met with his client. Then he took a direct flight from there to Fort Lauderdale. Morning and night, doing business or alone, talking, eating, in the shower, paying his hotel bill—whatever he was doing, he thought about Gini. He couldn’t get the picture out of his head of her burying her head deep into Franco’s shoulder, and his loving reaction to it. How comfortable they looked together even in grief. How was this happening? He should feel terrible he was messing around with his best friend’s wife—he tried to feel it—but he didn’t. He hadn’t seen or talked to Franco for a long time. Maybe it was time to get it all out in the open. Friend or not, he was in love with her, and he wanted her for his own.
Gini went to DC. As far as she was concerned, she could stay there forever. How could Franco just pack up and go back to China knowing how upset she was? Didn’t he understand their marriage hung in the balance? Was the love and affection at the funeral just an act, or did he really love her? It all seemed so genuine until he got that call at the restaurant. What could be so important? How was she supposed to feel? But being in his bed wrapped up tightly in his love was something she couldn’t easily forget. They had vows to uphold, to honor. He was the only man she had ever been with, the only man’s body she had ever explored… until Ric.
Ric, how had she let herself fall for him? She had tried so hard to deny his love. Yes, he loved her. That wasn’t supposed to happen. And she wasn’t supposed to let her vulnerable heart be taken; she was a stronger woman than that. It all had to stop now. No more Ric, and she would have to think hard and long about staying with Franco. He… he… was not holding up his part of the marriage. Was she? NO! She was having… an… affair.
All she told Catherine was Franco had shown up, and she had told both men that she didn’t want them in her life anymore. Catherine could see Gini needed to do some deep thinking. She was there for her, but Gini would have to start the conversation.
It had been about a week. Gini was sitting at Catherine’s dining room table working on her computer. Catherine was sitting on the couch in the combined living and dining room, working on hers. Her video call signal went off.
“Hello, Ric.”
Gini immediately turned and looked at her.
“I hope you don’t mind that I’m calling about Gini. Please tell her I need to talk to her. This silence is killing me. I don’t even know where she is. Is she with Franco? I just need to know, that’s all.”
There was a pathetic, sad note in his voice, which was hard for Catherine to hear. He was always so upbeat. She looked at Gini. Gini shook her head.
“Listen, Ric. I’m not sure what’s going on in her life. She’s not ready to talk about it. I will tell her you called. I agree, she should at least tell you where she is.” She leaned down to the screen and in almost a whisper, said, “She’s okay.”
Ric smiled; he knew she was there with Catherine. “Thanks. I appreciate you telling her.”
“Chin up.”
He laughed. “I’ll get through this. Hope everything is okay with you.”
Gini got up and left the room.
“I’m good, thanks for asking.”
That evening Ric sat by the pool on the fancy grounds at Valentino’s. He was looking up at the sliver moon. He had truly loved Margarita when they were married, but he had never felt the way he felt about Gini. Any spare moment he had, he thought about her. And even when he was busy, she was there, a presence in his mind, like a light behind a screen: beauty, softness, vulnerability, a soul so precious… November, December, and January had been the happiest days of his life—yes, his entire life. She accepted him as he was, no pretense, no trying to impress. He could be himself at all times. She loved him. He knew she loved him. He would just
have to wait for her to realize he was the one she wanted in her life.
He took a deep breath and let it out.
Kat walked over and sat on the edge of his chaise lounge. “You need me tonight, Ricky?”
He smiled and put his hand on her long, lean brown arm. “No.”
“You sure? I can help you forget all your troubles. I promise you will be satisfied.”
He took his hand gently down her arm and put it back in his lap. “Kat, you shouldn’t give yourself so easily.”
“Come.” She took his hand. “I bet I can swim two laps faster than you.”
He took a long look at her and then the water. “You’re on.” He got up and dove into the pool.
His phone vibrated on the table. The caller ID showed Gini.
“That was a short call,” Catherine said.
“He didn’t answer.”
“Did you leave a message?”
“No. I don’t know what to say.”
“Then let your heart do the talking.” Catherine went to her bedroom.
Gini’s face call sounded. When she answered it, Ric was wiping his hair with a towel. She could tell he was outside in Florida.
“Sweets, sorry I missed your call. You should be with me. I just had a refreshing swim; it’s warm here.”
She sat and looked at him without saying anything. His hair parted like it did the day they got caught in the rain. She smiled a half smile. “I will.”
“You will?” He wiped the towel down his face. “You will, what?”
“Go to Florida.”
Ric could hardly contain his excitement as he waited for her plane to land. On the phone, she told him she wanted to be with him and that she missed him. That’s what he wanted to hear. She was going to be his; he was determined. She could only be there for two nights.
Gini and Catherine had gone shopping for warm-weather clothes before she left DC. It had been so cold all winter in the north. Gini looked forward to the warmth.
He jogged up to her when she walked into the baggage area. She reached up and put her arms around his neck, and they kissed.
“Gins, you’re going to love it here.”
She was in awe when he opened the door of a Rolls-Royce to help her in. She looked at him with a big smile. He raised his eyebrows a couple of times. But the real awe came when she saw the mansion as they drove through the gates. He had described it perfectly. It was a world of make-believe.
He introduced her to Val and some of the staff. Rosa, the head cook, took an instant liking to Gini. On their way to the guesthouse, she saw the young men and women lounging around in the pool area. A tall, lanky, dark-skinned woman in a tiny bikini walked up to Ric on the other side from Gini. In her four-inch spike heel sandals, she was as tall as he.
“Ricky, how about another swim.” She wrapped her arms around his.
“Maybe later.” He pulled his arm out of hers and brought the two women face-to-face. “Kat, this is my girl, Gini.”
“Oh, your girl.” Kat was clearly disappointed.
As they made their way through the grounds, Gini couldn’t believe it was all real. Did people really live like this? How much money must this man have?
The guesthouse was roomy with a bedroom, luxury bath, and a living room. There was no kitchen, just a wet bar.
The sun was just setting. Ric told Rosa they wouldn’t be eating in the big house, to bring their dinner to them.
It took them no time to rekindle their intimacy. They were lying in bed, her head on his shoulder. He had his hand on the back of her head. He let out a soft groan. They were where they were meant to be.
Gini ran her fingers through the soft, fine hair on Ric’s arm. The hair added a dark sheen over his flawless olive skin—the same for his legs. She smiled to herself. He had no hair on his rounded pecs. He must have his chest waxed. He’s such a pretty boy, she thought. A wonderful, loving, pretty boy.
There wasn’t much conversation. She told him she had walked away from Franco; their lives were taking different paths. She was emphatic she would not move to San Francisco.
The next morning, they had their breakfast on the private patio on the other side of the guesthouse. The view was of the intercoastal canal. Large boats slowly went up and down the waterway. She had her legs pulled up in the softly padded chair, her teacup surrounded by her hands between her body and her legs. She loved the sound of the birds all around her.
He leaned down and kissed her. “I have meetings all day. Enjoy the pool. If you want to go anywhere, just tell Eduardo; he’ll arrange transportation. I should be back midafternoon.”
“Thank you, Ric. This is exactly what I need, a fairy-tale day.”
“You’re quite welcome, my princess.”
Gini took a long spa bath in the large tub in the bathroom. There were Epsom salt and lavender bath treatments to enhance the enjoyment. She put on one of the two-piece suits she had bought in DC. She couldn’t remember the last time she wore a swimsuit. Her skin was fish-belly white. She put on a cover-up, picked up her e-reader, and went out to the pool area around lunchtime.
She sat in a lounge chair near the pool and read her book. Rosa asked what she wanted to drink.
“Oh, I don’t know, what do you have?”
The tiny Cuban lady told her she had just the drink, and to please go to the long table with food and get what she wanted.
As Gini sat reading, the young people started to filter in. She recognized Kat right away. Rosa brought her a delicious fruit punch drink. She laid her reader down and went to the table, filling her plate with fruit, meat rolls, chips, and several dips. Then she looked over all the desserts and picked a couple.
“You eat like that you’ll get fat,” Kat said in passing. “I don’t think Ricky will go for fat. If I were you, I’d only eat the fruit.”
Gini smiled politely and then went back to her lounge chair. She spent the rest of the afternoon reading and jumping in the pool to cool off. Kat continued to eye her.
About four o’clock, Ric and Val walked out to the patio area. Kat immediately went to Val’s side, and he wrapped his arm around her waist; they kissed. In her heels, she was a couple of inches taller than him. Gini was surprised to see the affection between the two. Ric walked to Gini, and they embraced.
“I need to change my clothes,” he said.
The two of them went into the guesthouse. Once inside, they kissed and kissed some more. “You smell like lavender and oranges.”
“And you,” she gave a devilish smile, “you, Mr. Santini, smell like offices.”
“Oh no,” he said. “We’ll have to change that.” She undressed him, and he removed her suit. She felt shy and then she didn’t. Their lovemaking was intense, invigorating, and what they both wanted and needed.
“I could do this all night,” he said.
“Why not?”
Later they went back to the outside eating and pool area. Val was sitting at the table smoking a large Cuban cigar; Kat was sitting on his lap. Gini and Ric sat across the table from them. Rosa brought out a tray of tropical drinks, and the plates full of finger food continued to be served as they drank and the two men talked business.
A little later, Rosa escorted a woman to the door. When Val saw her, he flicked his fingers at Kat, telling her to leave. She quickly jumped up from his lap and joined the other young people across the way. Then he waved to the other lady to join them. Ric stood up when she approached.
Val got up, and he and the woman hugged and kissed. She was older, dressed in a business skirt and jacket.
“Diane,” Ric said. “This is Gini.” The two ladies acknowledged each other. “Diane’s the mayor of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.”
Val held a chair for Diane to sit and then took her hand. “You usual?” he asked in is broken English, kissing the back of her hand.
She smiled. “Oh, Val, I can drink what you’re drinking.”
“No, amor de mi vida, you have martini.” He signaled to Rosa.
>
The dinner was light and delightful. Diane and Ric talked about the permits and property purchase for the new resort.
When they were done eating, Val stood up and took Diane’s hand. “To thee boat!”
The four of them walked through the pool area, around the guesthouse, and down a path.
“You’re going to love this,” Ric whispered in Gini’s ear.
They walked to the dock. There it was, a huge yacht waiting for them to board. As they walked closer, lights turned on throughout the boat’s rooms.
She looked up at him. “You were right, it’s bigger than your house.” Her blue eyes were sparkling.
For the next hour or so they slowly cruised down the canal toward Miami Beach. After-dinner drinks were served, and they sat in the outdoor living area.
Early the next morning, Ric took her to the airport. They embraced for a long time before she got out of the car. “I have a trip to the Bahamas, and then I will be back to Boston.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
“Thank you for coming here.” He kissed her.
“Are you kidding? You won’t be able to keep me away now.”
The election for the city council seat was the next day. Gini couldn’t miss Michael’s big event. She did two morning-show interviews. Most of the talk was about the election, but they also talked to her about her role in the health-care bill. Catherine and Gini had made their names well known across the country, especially along the East Coast. With all her visibility over the holidays, she was easily recognized on the streets.
Gini wanted to take Michael and Brenda out to dinner to celebrate his victory. The two of them were together all week as she introduced him to the people of importance in the local and national governments. She met them at the restaurant. They were just finishing their cocktails when Gini got a message. She leaned down and picked up her phone. The three of them were smiling, talking about Michael’s road to the White House.
She suddenly looked serious. “I have to take this.” She got up and went to the entrance area. She read the message and then walked back to the table.
Green Stone Ring Page 25